Programmable infusion pump for administering medication to patients
AssigneeSIMS Deltec, Inc.
InventorsLarry R. Zalesky, Linda S. Hansen
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A programmable infusion pump which combines automatic and demand doses of medication with any basal rates on a real-time basis to determine an effective rate at anytime during the delivery cycle without under-delivering fluid due to the minimum increment of fluid delivery by the pump.
Claims18
A programmable infusion pump for administering fluid to a patient at multiple programmable rates and for calculating an effective rate on a real-time basis, the pump having a motor with a stroke volume corresponding to a discrete volume of fluid for each pump activation for delivering a volume of fluid during an infusion cycle, comprising:
- input means for receiving, (i) a basal infusion rate corresponding to a time interval between basal pump activations, (ii) an automatic dose having a start time, an automatic dose volume, and a duration, and (iii) a demand dose having a start time, a demand dose volume and a duration;
- means for identifying the start time of an automatic dose, including means for calculating a rate for the automatic dose;
- means for detecting the start time of a patient activated demand dose, including means for calculating a rate for the demand dose;
- means for calculating the effective rate corresponding to a time interval between pump activations, comprising the sum of the basal rate and any automatic and demand dose rates, the means for calculating including means for identifying a start time for the effective rate;
- means for determining any undelivered volume of fluid which is scheduled for delivery prior to the start time of the effective rate, including means for delivering the portion of the undelivered volume of fluid corresponding to a whole number of stroke volumes;
- means for determining any portion of the undelivered volume of fluid which is a fraction of the stroke volume of the motor;
- means for altering at least one of the time intervals subsequent to the new effective rate to include the fractional portion of the undelivered volume;
- and
- pump means for administering the fluid to the patient according to the effective rate.
A method for administering fluid to a patient at multiple programmable rates and for calculating an effective rate on a real-time basis using a programmable infusion pump, the pump having a motor with a stroke volume corresponding to a discrete volume of fluid for each pump activation for delivering a volume of fluid during an infusion cycle, comprising the steps of:
- providing input means for receiving, (i) a basal infusion rate corresponding to a time interval between basal pump activations, (ii) an automatic dose having a start time, an automatic dose volume, and a duration, and (iii) a demand dose having a start time, a demand dose volume and a duration;
- identifying the start time of an automatic dose, including calculating a rate for the automatic dose;
- detecting the start time of a patient activated demand dose, including calculating a rate for the demand dose;
- calculating an effective rate corresponding to a time interval between pump activations comprising the sum of the basal rate and any automatic and demand dose rates, the step of calculating including identifying a start time for the effective rate;
- determining any undelivered volume of fluid which is scheduled for delivery prior to the start time of the effective rate, including delivering the portion of the undelivered volume of fluid corresponding to a whole number of stroke volumes;
- determining any portion of the undelivered volume of fluid which is a fraction of the stroke volume of the motor;
- altering at least one of the time intervals at the effective rate to include the fractional portion of the undelivered volume;
- and
- administering the fluid to the patient with the programmable infusion pump according to the effective rate.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.